A user's guide to selecting and applying medium voltage adjustable speed drives

Medium voltage (MV) adjustable speed drives (ASDs) have become more commonly used in industrial applications due to their ability to save owners money and improve product quality. In recent years ASDs of all ratings have become more common in the petroleum industry because of their decreased cost, improved reliability, and demonstrated savings. This paper informs users how to select the correct size and install medium voltage ASDs. It addresses many of the problems that can be encountered when an ASD is installed in a power system. This paper discusses how to validate the entire installation through computer simulation after the drive has been selected. Because there are so many types of drive systems available today, this paper covers ASDs for induction motors running at speeds no higher than 110% of their normal synchronous speed.